Twenty-five people in Washington have been sickened with Salmonella infections from contaminated cucumbers. They are part of a huge outbreak that has sickened 838 people in 38 states. One hundred and sixty five people have been hospitalized, four have died.
By county, the case count is as follows: Clark (4 cases), King (5); Kitsap (2); Pierce (5); Snohomish (4); Spokane (2); Thurston (1); Walla Walla (1); and Yakima (1). One person has been hospitalized.
On September 4, 2015, Andrew & Williamson recalled the cucumbers sold under the “Limited Edition” brand label from August 1, 2015 through September 3, 2015. Then, on September 11, another recall was issued by Custom Produce Sales for all cucumbers sold under the Fat Boy label starting August 1, 2015. Those unlabeled cucumbers, … [Read more...]

A 35-state cucumber Salmonella outbreak includes 40 cases in Wisconsin. The outbreak, which has been linked to cucumbers grown in Mexico and distributed by Andrew & Williamson, includes 732 people, 150 of whom have been hospitalized. Four people have died.
About 50 percent of the case patients are children under 18, an age group that is at high risk for food poisoning and for serious complications of foodborne infections.
Anyone who has eaten cucumbers and has suffered the symptoms of a Salmonella infection, should see a doctor. Because the outbreak strain of Salmonella Poona is not resistant to antibiotics, it will respond to treatment that can help alleviate symptoms and clear the infection. And tests on a stool sample can determine if the illness is part of the … [Read more...]

The large Salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers imported from Baja, Mexico has prompted some interesting comments on our Facebook page. Many people have said they will not buy imported produce because of this outbreak. But buying locally grown food isn't a 100% guarantee of protection against foodborne illness. An E. coli outbreak linked to Los Chilangos food truck, which was at farmers markets in Washington state, has sickened at least 10 people. And there have been dozens of recalls for bacterial contamination of food sold at farmers markets.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has compiled a paper on Salmonella outbreaks in the U.S. from 1968 to 2011. This report divides the Salmonella by serotype (Branderup, Newport, Poona, Saintpaul, Berta), then shows where … [Read more...]

Same company. Same product. But in Canada, where Andrew & Williamson cucumbers are also being recalled, consumers got information they haven't in the U.S. - a complete list of stores where the recalled cucumbers were sold and a PLU number identifying the cucumbers.
The cucumbers are being recalled in conjunction with an outbreak of Salmonella Poona that has killed two people, sickened 341 and hospitalized 70 in the U.S. Investigators used epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations to identify cucumbers from Mexico distributed by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce of San Diego as the likely source of the outbreak.
Four state health departments -Arizona, California, Montana, and Nevada, isolated Salmonella from the company’s cucumbers collected from various … [Read more...]

Salmonella in cucumbers? Salmonella in produce at Chipotle? Aren't eggs and poultry the usual suspects when it comes to Salmonella outbreaks?
While it's true that Salmonella is often found in eggs and poultry, produce is the most common source of Salmonella outbreaks, according to a recent study. Almost 40 percent of Salmonella outbreaks that occurred between 2008 and 2012 were attributed to some kind of produce, according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department ofAgriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS). Of those, seeded vegetables accounted for 18 percent; fruits, 12 percent and sprouts 8 percent for a combined total of 38 percent.
Produce can become … [Read more...]